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The Indiana Pacers could have used Peja Stojakovic’s long-range shooting skills against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Indiana’s Austin Croshere missed everything on a 3-pointer that would have tied the game in the closing seconds and the Cavaliers beat the Pacers 93-89 Friday night.
Stojakovic, Indiana’s newest player, was with the Pacers but did not suit up. He arrived in Indianapolis on Friday after being traded from the Sacramento Kings for Ron Artest.
Zydrunas Ilgauskas made 12 of 12 free throws in the fourth quarter and finished with 27 points and six rebounds for Cleveland. LeBron James added 30 points, nine assists and seven rebounds.

The Morning Journal.Com brings us up to speed. Pat Murray, the Cavaliers’ director of TV/production services, will join Channel 3’s new baseball production team. He’s reportedly ruffled a few feathers leaving his gig at Quicken Loans Arena.
… Brown doesn’t understand the criticism of his offensive scheme. When the Cavaliers have a fast-break opportunity, they take advantage of it. ”I’ve never told our guys to stop or slow it up,” he said. ”If you have something, take it.”
… Cavaliers center Zendon Hamilton’s second 10-day contract will expire Sunday. They need to either sign him for the rest of the year or let him walk. If they can find a point guard, they might let him go. ”That’s something we have to talk about,” Brown said. ”He adds value to this team. As a group, we have to make sure we’re all on the same team with it.”
… Hawks guard Tyronn Lue, who scorched the Cavaliers in Cleveland on Dec. 13 for 19 points, is third in NBA in 3-point shooting. … Atlanta has dropped eight of its last nine games to Cleveland at Philips Arena

Atlanta Hawks spokesman Arthur Triche said Thursday the person who tried to distract Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James with a laser pointer in Wednesday night’s game was not apprehended.
Triche said Hawks officials consider the incident to be an isolated event, but said security officers would be on the lookout when the Hawks host Phoenix on Friday night at Philips Arena.
“Unless it happens again tomorrow night, we consider it a dead issue,” Triche said.

The Boston Celtics acquired Wally Szczerbizk and Michael Olowokandi from the Minnesota Timberwolves in a multiplayer deal that sent former Cavaliers guard Ricky Davis and three other players to Minnesota.

James had 38 points, nine rebounds and six assists as the Cleveland Cavaliers won their third straight game, 106-97 on Wednesday night.

The Cavaliers were winning 94-93 with 3:17 left when Donyell Marshall hit a 3-pointer that started a 12-4 run that ended the game. Marshall, who buried another 3 with 58.1 seconds remaining for a 104-95 lead.

James hit 15 of 20 free-throw attempts, compared to 16 of 22 for the Hawks. He scored on consecutive possessions early in the fourth, the second of which came on a 3-pointer from the top of the key for a 92-86 lead.

“Coming off a back-to-back, with a big win last night against Indiana, it would have been easy for us to not bring intensity,” James said. “Early on, our team didn’t have intensity. I saw that and I had to pretty much take over matters. I’ve been able to take my team on my back.”

Joe Johnson scored 24 points and Al Harrington added 22 for the Hawks, who have lost seven of their last nine.

Drew Gooden finished with 14 rebounds.

Cleveland outscored Atlanta 23-8 on fastbreak points, including a layup by James that cut the Hawks’ lead to 82-80 with 10:25 left in the game.

James had two of his three steals in the fourth.

Each of Marshall’s four field goals was a 3-pointer. He attempted six shots beyond the arc, eight overall.

Zydrunas Ilgauskas scored 16 of his 18 points in the first half for Cleveland

Cleveland improved to 8-1 in its last nine meetings with Atlanta, including four straight wins at Philips Arena.

Eric Snow had a game-high eight assists.

The Cavs entered with a league-best .417 opponents’ field-goal percentage since Jan. 15, but the Hawks shot 50.7 percent.

LeBron James didn’t appreciate a fan’s attempt to disrupt his concentration with a laser pointer.

“Those things can damage your eyes something bad,” James said. “I was standing at the foul line in the fourth quarter when the ref noticed a red dot near my forehead. That’s pretty serious.”

Donyell Marshall also complained to the officiating crew about the laser light as he stood at the foul line with 9:49 remaining.

“They were more when we were shooting our free throws,” Marshall said. “I couldn’t really tell when I was shooting my jump shots.”

Ronnie Duncan, voice of the Cleveland Cavaliers, is the new morning host at WERE AM/1300. Duncan is the winner of the station’s search for someone to host its morning show, which is part of WERE’s new urban talk format. Duncan’s program will be heard 6 to 9 a.m. weekdays. It feels great, a tremendous blessing,” Duncan said Monday. “I’m happy I’ll have an opportunity to hear all sides.” He wants his show to be informative and let people have a voice.
Duncan, 47, of Aurora, is also a host and executive producer for Village Television, a subsidiary of Adelphia cable. Duncan said he hopes to keep his part-time job with the Cavaliers.

The Cleveland Cavaliers have assigned forward/center Martynas Andriuskevicius to the Arkansas RimRockers of the NBA Development League, Cavaliers General Manager Danny Ferry announced today.

“We think Marty has made good progress thus far with strength and conditioning, practice and adjusting to life here in the States,” said Ferry. “Now we feel like it is the right time for his development process to take the next step with some real game experience. Marty has worked hard thus far and impressed us with his commitment to learning and growing. Hopefully, this will be another positive step for him.”